Left Behind
by DuskMoon15
Summary: One-shot about three kittypets left behind when their housefolk move. They refuse to believe that they've been abandoned, but as more time passes, they have to admit the truth. They've been left behind by the ones they loved.


**AN: I came up with this idea a couple of weeks ago, when I remembered the time I had to leave my three cats behind when we moved. I've wondered what Kovu, the eldest, thought in those first week when we didn't come home.**

**This is a tribute to Kovu, Kira, and Midnight. Three extraordinary cats who could have been warriors, but lived their lives as kittypets, not knowing they were going to be abandoned. I don't know what happened to them, but I insisted that we name our two new cats after Kovu and Midnight – who, by now, walk among the stars.**

* * *

A golden tabby tom sat on the front porch of his housefolk's nest, the white tip of his tail flicking back and forth.

The youngest of the four kits sat next to him, murmuring in an unintelligible voice to him. Another one, the oldest, crouched beside her.

"Phoebe, I'll miss them too," she said in an uncharacteristically gentle voice. "But we have to leave. It-it's for the best." She leaned over to stroke the kittypet down the dark ginger stripe on his back. "Kovu, protect the others. They need someone to look after them now."

Kovu rubbed his muzzle against Phoebe's small front paw. "Are you going to see your kin again?" he meowed, knowing they couldn't understand him. "Will you be back soon? Are you going to bring back another kitten like you did last time?"

He heard low wailing coming from inside the nest. Kaitlyn must not want to go right now.

Kaitlyn came rushing out of the nest, pursued quickly by Alyssa. The black-haired young kit ran past Jordyn, laughing every time her older sister missed catching her.

"Katy, stop running away!"

Kovu decided to intervene. He purred loudly, padding down the steps and into the yard. "Please pet me! Oh, I've missed you! Are you going to come back soon?"

Kaitlyn squeaked in delight, racing over to scratch the golden tabby between the ears. "Kovu! You're such a handsome kitty! It's no wonder Kira's been following you around!"

Alyssa scooped up Kaitlyn and carried her back into the house. "Thank you, Kovu," she murmured. "I won't forget this."

Amidst all the talk, Kovu hadn't noticed Kira and Midnight come up behind him.

"Are they leaving again?" Kira's tortoiseshell neck fur was bristling.

"Yes," the golden tom answered, gazing at the green-blue van being packed by the kits' parents. "But they'll come back, just like they always do."

Midnight reared on her hind legs playfully. "I hope they bring a new friend home."

Kira pressed her tail to Midnight's shoulder. "Maybe they will."

Kovu yawned, arching his back in a luxurious stretch. "I'm going hunting. Would you like to come, Kira?"

"No thanks, I've got to look after Midnight. Someone needs to make sure she doesn't destroy the nest."

The black kitten's jaws opened to protest, but Kira slapped her tail over her mouth. "That's enough, little one."

Kovu rolled his eyes and headed out of the yard. As soon as he jumped the low fence surrounding the abandoned nest, he tasted the air for prey.

Now, he knew he would always have plenty of food at home, but birds and squirrels tasted so much better. Besides, his housefolk knew, and they would often give him a bit of fish when he caught something really big. Sometimes the others would come with him, but not today. Kira wasn't really one to eat the things she caught, but she was a skilled hunter. Midnight, however, couldn't kill a bird if it landed in front of her, but any rat or mouse that dared enter her territory was as good as dead if she found them.

A soft rustling above his head alerted him to the blue jay's nest. An easy kill. He deftly climbed his way up the trunk, slithering like a snake around the climbing ivy. He sniffed the air as he got close. No chicks, but a fat male blue jay was stupid enough to doze off in front of his nose.

He pounced lightly onto the bird so as not to disturb the swaying branch any further. With a measured bite to the back of the neck, the bird fell limp.

"Hello," the loud mew startled him out of his hunting trance. "Hunting again, Kovu?"

"Simba," Kovu growled through his mouthful of feathers. "You're lucky I already caught something, because you've probably just scared off the rest of the prey in the garden!"

"I caught a rabbit," the brown and white tom replied. "You want it?"

"You caught a rabbit? Don't tell me it was one of the twoleg's pets."

"Nope," Simba's pelt was ruffled with scratches. "A wild one. Tried to eat some of my housefolk's plants. I soon showed it! Ever notice how strong those things are?" Kovu nodded. Simba tipped his head to one side. "So, you want it? I've got no use for it – I was just protecting the garden."

Kovu dropped the blue jay. "Alright, I'll be sure to tell Kira and Midnight who caught it."

"Be right back," the other kittypet called over his shoulder as he headed toward his housefolk's nest. When he returned, he was dragging the fattest wild rabbit Kovu had ever seen behind him. He set it down in front of his friend. "Got to go," he meowed when a twoleg call came from across the street. "My housefolk don't like it when I disappear. See you around."

"Goodbye for now, brother," Kovu called as the brown and white tail disappeared over the fence. He grabbed the blue jay by the wing and the rabbit by a limb, clearing the fence with a powerful leap. "Kira, Midnight! Come see!"

The tortoiseshell she-cat and black kitten raced out through the cat door, purring appreciatively when they saw the catch.

"Nice rabbit," squeaked Midnight.

"Simba caught it."

"There's a first time for everything," Kira smoothed her chest fur. "Did you see the other twolegs?"

Kovu cocked his head questioningly. "What other twolegs?"

"The ones who came in a huge white and orange van, and took things from the nest. Didn't you hear them?" Kira's face was a mask of confusion. "They said something about a thing called-" she flicked her tail, trying to remember "-Florida. Do you know what that is?"

Kovu shook his head. "Not a clue, Kira. Do you want to eat now?"

Midnight's tail waved in delight. "I've never had rabbit before!"

As they were about to eat, one of the older housefolk called them inside.

"Kovu, Kira, Midnight!" It was the female, yowling at them to come inside. "I have something for you!"

The three kittypets wondered what she could possibly have for them. A collar for Midnight, perhaps? After all, Kira and Kovu already had theirs, so maybe it was time for Midnight to get hers. But somehow that didn't seem likely.

They padded quickly into the kitchen, where they found the male twoleg preparing some kind of large bird. The female was crouched close by, three shiny items in her hand. Beside her, the kits whimpered, streaks of water flowing down their cheeks.

"Come here, Kira," the female picked Kira up by the scruff, placing her on her lap. She undid the she-cat's collar, unhooking the tag from the thick pelt. Carefully, she replaced it with one of the other shiny objects and put it back on Kira.

Alyssa was smiling, but something in her face wasn't quite right. A rank fear-scent wafted to Kovu's nose, drowning out the delicious smell from the bird that was cooking. She was frightened. But of what? Kovu searched for the cause of her fear, but found nothing.

"Your turn, Midnight," this time, the female had in her hand a bright pink collar with the tag already on. She wrapped it around the kitten's neck, securing it in place with a clasp.

Finally, it was Kovu's turn. Once it was over, the gold tag that had been around his neck for moons was replaced by a gleaming silver tube that banged his neck whenever he walked about.

* * *

When Kovu woke up the next morning, he immediately noticed that something was wrong. The housefolk were gone. The walls were a pristine white, unmarked by all the things once strung on them. The comfortable nest he normally slept in was missing, and he was on the floor. Kira was curled up beside him, shivering without the warm blanket usually wrapped around her small frame. Midnight was almost on top of him, her head barely visible among the black heap of fur.

Something wasn't right.

"Where is everyone?" He called out, surprised when it echoed through the room.

This woke the others, who also understood something was wrong from the moment they opened their eyes.

"Phoebe?" Midnight called out the name of the youngest kit, who had always been there to play with her first thing in the morning.

"Jordyn? Alyssa?" Kira's mew grew desperate.

Kovu was scared now. He didn't remember a time when his housefolk had left without saying goodbye. "Kaitlyn?"

Their panicked yowling was thrown back at them by the smooth walls.

The kittypets decided – after much argument – to explore and see if this was all just a misunderstanding.

When they had finished, no one had anything to report. Everything was gone from the nest: the beds, the piles of pelts, the backpack full of paper, even the colorful box that glowed when you touched it.

"Did they leave us?"

"Are they coming back?"

"Have we done something wrong?"

The questions went unanswered, reverberating as soon as they left the kittypets' lips.

Kovu tried his best to reassure his friends that their housefolk would be home soon. "They always come back. Even if it takes a while, they always come back."

He padded over to the cat door, only to find it blocked with something hard. He couldn't get through.

"We're trapped inside?" Midnight's voice was small, but the question lingered.

"No," Kovu meowed firmly. "I know my way around. There are more ways to get out of here than there are holes in a rouge's promise. Follow me. I'll get us outside."

He led the way down into the basement, clawing up one of the floorboards, leaving a cat-sized hole in the ground.

Kira shrank back from the black hole. "There are rats down there. I've seen a couple of them."

Midnight lifted her head proudly. "I can get us through the rats. Leave it to me, Kovu." She slipped down the short tunnel, the other two kittypets on her tail. "Blech! It smells like dog breath!"

It took a while, but they finally managed to escape. Fortunately for them, the rabbit was still outside, waiting for them. No one had touched it.

After they ate, Kovu went to talk to Simba. Perhaps his brother would know where his housefolk went.

"Sorry, Kovu, I don't know where they are," the brown and white tom mowed once he'd been asked. "Probably they're just away on a long trip, that's all." He touched the tip of his tail to Kovu's flank in a comforting gesture. "They'll be back, just you wait."

* * *

But they didn't come back. Days passed without any sign of their housefolk. Soon, a half-moon had gone by.

"They've never been gone this long," whispered Midnight, her short black fur matted and dull.

"They'll come back," Kira murmured, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself just as much as the others. Her tortoiseshell pelt, once groomed to perfection, was now covered in soot and dirt from her trips in and out of the nest.

But Kovu looked even worse than the others. His thick fur clung to his bones, dull and lifeless. His face, once round and content, was gaunt hunted. Even his tail, formerly long and erect, now hung low, half of it missing. He had been hunting for all of them, but refused to eat unless Kira made him.

The roar of the vet's van startled all of them into a tree. They had never been scared of the veterinarian, but after several times when they'd nearly been captured and put in cages, they didn't trust anyone.

Simba came by every so often, bringing prey back with him. But almost everything he caught was small and scrawny, the rabbits having fled long ago.

The three cats shivered in a tight group, huddling close together for warmth. Kovu grabbed Midnight's scruff when the younger cat slipped off the branch they were clinging on to for dear life.

Once the van had gone, the three kittypets quickly fled to the relative safety and warmth provided by their nest. Kira retreated to a corner, her back pressed against the cold wall. Midnight followed her, curling into her side, sharing warmth, and giving some as well.

"A-are you going out, Kovu?" Kira's voice was a terrified whisper.

"Yes. Don't worry, I'll find something for us to eat." He climbed out the chimney, ignoring the rough stone that tore his paws and ripped out chunks of fur. He kept climbing, up and up, until he emerged on the roof.

His housefolk were gone. But they had to be coming back. Surely it was just a simple misunderstanding. They'd forgotten, that's all. Nothing more.

A terrible longing ripped at his heart, tearing it into a thousand pieces.

"Where are you?" He wailed to the black night sky. "Why aren't you home? Don't forget us!"

And then it sunk in. Jordyn telling him to protect the others. Alyssa promising she wouldn't forget when he helped her catch Kaitlyn. The other twolegs, taking the things in the house and putting them into the huge van. The mysterious things put on their collars the night before their housefolk left.

Their housefolk weren't coming back.

They had been left behind.


End file.
